Homare Nishitani III (三代目 西谷 誉, Sandaime Nishitani Homare) is the secondary antagonist of Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. He is an agent of the Daidoji Faction, the former third patriarch of the Kijin Clan, and the former owner of The Castle.
Profile[]
Appearance[]
Nishitani's face is modeled after his Japanese-language voice actor, Kim JaeuckWP. He is a young man with a lean build, and has black hair that parts on the left side, with his bangs brushed over the right side of his forehead. He wears black nail polish on his fingernails and toenails.
Attire[]
Nishitani wears a teal blue suit with azure floral patterns and a Kijin Clan pin on the left coat lapel, as well as a silver-buckle, white leather belt, and white, cap-toe, oxford dress shoes. Underneath, he wears a yellow-orange dress shirt unbuttoned at the top, and a gold chain around his neck.
Personality[]
Nishitani is lecherous, extravagant and violent, like his predecessor, and takes pleasure in brutally torturing and killing people. He is obnoxious and perverted and often makes crude sexual remarks during the heat of battle. He does not appear to be masochistic, however. He enjoys being the most powerful man in the room and is rarely seen without his slaves by his side, maintaining his appearance.
Background[]
Nishitani was born under a different name to Korean parents. He began his life in the criminal underworld as a member of the Jingweon Mafia. Having survived the Tojo Clan's attempts to crush the Jingweon, he and the other members split off, and he took on a new identity concealing his Korean heritage.
He joined the Kijin Clan, a subsidiary of the Omi Alliance. He rose to prominence as its third patriarch and took on the name of Homare Nishitani as his third successor. As he had Masaru Watase's support and had established his strength and "trademark grit and brutality," there was no outward objection from the Omi Alliance when he revealed his background to them. He idolized Watase and had the Kijin Clan handle unsavory tasks on behalf of the Watase Family.
He later "[took] a [liking] to" Kosei Shishido[2], who was enslaved by the Kijin Clan as a coliseum fighter at the time. He went on to physically, psychologically, and sexually abuse[2][3][note 1] Shishido for decades, forcing him to play Russian roulette in one instance. He also regularly tormented the "losers and weaklings" among the fighters with his signature torture routine, consisting of denailing his victims, cutting their noses off, and making multiple cauterized cuts to their stomachs before burying them alive in the mountains.
At some point, he heard of a twenty-year-old former biker gang member deserting the Watase Family. Knowing Yuki Tsuruno intended to let his former subordinate go free, Nishitani tracked down and captured the deserter, hoping to impress Watase. Near the end of his routine, he was intercepted by Tsuruno, who shot the deserter in the head out of mercy. Later on, Nishitani negotiated Shishido's freedom with Tsuruno, ultimately allowing Shishido to go free.
Upon gaining control of The Castle, Nishitani turned it into an offshore adult amusement park, relocating the Kijin Clan coliseum there and inviting the other Omi Alliance families to host events on a rotating schedule. Having maintained contact with Shishido, he had him coordinate events on Watase Family nights.
Involvement[]
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name: 2019[]
Nishitani is observing a reenactment of notable historical yakuza conflicts in the coliseum when he observes a newcomer, Joryu, winning against all odds. He continues his regular observance of the Castle until one visit of Yuki Tsuruno where he does not greet him. Nishitani sees him talking with Joryu and wants to meet both, but Tsuruno mentioning Joryu's intention to keep his identity secret piques Nishitani's interest further.
Sending his henchmen after Joryu, Nishitani himself uses a motorbike to catch up to him. He is excited and aroused by the prospect of fighting such a strong adversary after his rank became too high for people to challenge him, ordering the bystanders to not interfere. Right after their fight, Nishitani is able to recognize Joryu as the reportedly-dead legend Kazuma Kiryu. Before he can inquire further, he is knocked out by Joryu. When he comes to, he commences a manhunt for Joryu.
He leaves the Castle to search for Joryu himself after hearing of the latter's debauchery in Sotenbori, intending to attack from the shadows when Joryu is vulnerable, but this plan is thwarted when Joryu raids the Castle and threatens to have its existence revealed to the public unless Nishitani comes out of hiding. His hand now forced, he backs down and instead sends his underlings to bring Joryu to him for a face-to-face meeting.
At the Kijin Clan offices, Nishitani sees Joryu accompanied by Kosei Shishido. As the Watase Family sets the offices ablaze, Nishitani wonders why they could cause an internal conflict like this when the Omi's imprisoned captain Masaru Watase is about to be freed. After being defeated by Joryu, he is carried away to be taken into custody, but Shishido pretends to murder him using a model knife, faking his death. Afterwards, Nishitani is filled in by Shishido of Watase's plan to disband the Omi.
Feeling betrayed by a man he idolized, Nishitani joins forces with Shishido in the latter's plan to prevent the Omi Alliance's dissolution and take over the organization. The two and their henchmen assault Joryu, Tsuruno, and Watase when the latter arrives after being liberated, but their attack fails. Nishitani lands a sneak attack on Tsuruno, but is knocked out after being rammed by Kihei Hanawa's limousine. He is then chained to a pole until Daidoji Faction agents abduct him and force him to be one of their agents.
Fighting Style[]
Nishitani is fought three times throughout Gaiden. In his first two encounters, he fights solo and wields a tantō. In the third fight, he wields a guardless katana, and is join by Shishido and a horde of Omi Alliance Goons.
His fighting techniques are just as flashy and violent as those of the original Nishitani, but also much faster and more acrobatic. He holds his knife in his left hand with his arm outstretched, with his right hand close to his face. He also makes use of stun grenades to blind and disorientate Kiryu.
His combos are listed below:
- one consisting of a hopping left calf-kick, a leftward horizontal slash, a hopping thrust (all fights), and a right tornado kick (3rd fight only);
- another one made up of a 360° leaping diagonal downward right slash, a spinning left heel sweep kick, and a 360° kneeling leftward slash;
- a third combo made up of a leaping thrust-leftward slash, a spinning upward diagonal right slash-360° leaping low rightward slash, a sliding low leftward slash (all fights), and a 360° leaping two-handed diagonal downward right slash (3rd fight only).
His other attacks include the following:
- a diagonal downward left slash-front cartwheel kick,
- throwing his blade in the air while doing a spinning jump, before performing a reverse-grip diagonal downward right slash-low thrust;
- tossing a stun grenade (1 & 2nd fight — Heat Mode only),
- jumping back while throwing a stun grenade, used only to trigger the scene transition (3rd fight only);
- a downward diagonal right cut as a Spider reversal (1st & 2nd fight only),
- dagger quickstep attacks, including:
- a lunging knife thrust after frontstepping,
- a reverse-grip knife thrust after sidestepping right (1st & 2nd fight),
- a right-handed reverse-grip thrust after sidestepping left (1st & 2nd fight), and
- a lunging diagonal downward right slash after backstepping;
- sword quickstep attacks, including:
- his forward knife quickstep attack,
- a leftward horizontal slash after sidestepping right (3rd fight only),
- a spinning leftward horizontal slash after sidestepping left (3rd fight only), and
- his backward knife quickstep attack;
- a kneeling downward thrust as a downed attack, and
- two get-up attacks, including:
- a left push kick-back handspring (2nd fight only), and
- a windmill-kneeling leftward slash (3rd fight only).
He has four taunts, which include:
- tossing his dagger in the air and catching it with his right hand in a reverse-grip hold (1st & 2nd fight),
- wiping his blade clean with his inner right elbow (1st & 2nd fight),
- passing his dagger to his left hand and examining his nails (1st & 2nd fight),
- shaking the blood off his sword and twirling it (3rd fight only).
He has two different Ultimate Attacks:
- a diagonal downward right slash command grab, followed by him tossing his knife and kicking it into Kiryu's stomach before pulling it out (1st & 2nd fight); and
- a jumping right roundhouse kick-spinning leftward horizontal slash (3rd fight only).
In his first and second fights, Nishitani will flashstep up close to Kiryu after throwing a stun grenade to use his Ultimate Attack. If the latter is blinded by its detonation, he will taunt him beforehand.
Nishitani enters Heat Mode automatically in his third boss fight. He emits a bright neon pink aura — just like the first Nishitani — in his first and third encounters. In the second, however, he possesses an orange aura, but his attack trails retain their default color.
Gallery[]
Notes[]
- ↑ The line "Yeah, the patriarch rode your ass like a prize pony, but least it made ya tough as nails, huh?"[2] is partly mistranslated. It removes the context of the Dagger-Wielding Omi mocking Nishitani's sexual abuse of Shishido because it uses an expression that has no sexual connotations if not taken literally and is not meant to be taken literally in common usage.
The Japanese lines are 「まあ ある意味かわいがられとったもんなぁ お前。西谷会長にじっくりなぶられながら ゴツなったんやろ？身も心も奴隷にされとったんやなぁ？」[3] The mistranslation may have occurred due to translating from the Kanto dialect rather than the Kansai dialect, which the Dagger-Wielding Omi speaks. In the Kanto dialect, なぶられる means "to be harassed or toyed with," but in the Kansai dialect, it means "to be touched or felt."
The sexual connotations of the surrounding lines[2][3] and the severity of the impact of Nishitani's actions make it clear the line is not referring to general physical contact, but to slow and deliberate sexual contact Nishitani's victim could not consent to. A literal English translation with minimal stylistic liberties would be "I suppose you were well taken care of in a sense. Even though you were molested by Patriarch Nishitani at his leisure, you got tougher, didn't you? Enslaved in both body and mind, eh?"[3]
References[]
- ↑ “Like a Dragon: Dragon Calendar,” Ryu Ga Gotoku, SEGA, accessed September 17, 2025, https://calendar.ryu-ga-gotoku.com/en/.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, “Final Chapter: The Man Who Erased His Name”, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name (Tokyo: SEGAWP, 2023), PlayStation 4/PlayStation 5/Windows/Xbox One/Xbox Series X and S.
Dagger-Wielding Omi —
Owe him? You?
Shishido —What? I say somethin' weird?
Dagger-Wielding Omi —I guess in his way, he did take a likin' to ya, didn't he. Yeah, the patriarch rode your ass like a prize pony, but least it made ya tough as nails, huh? Boy, I bet he broke ya real good. Mind and body both.
Shishido —He was the model Kansai yakuza. Him takin' a liking to me was an honor.
— Dagger-Wielding Omi and Shishido (Japanese audio, English subtitles) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, “Final Chapter: The Man Who Erased His Name”, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name (Tokyo: SEGAWP, 2023), PlayStation 4/PlayStation 5/Windows/Xbox One/Xbox Series X and S.
Dagger-Wielding Omi —
「世話んなった」？ お前がかいな。
Shishido —なんでっか？ なんやおかしなこと言いましたか？ 俺。
Dagger-Wielding Omi —まあ ある意味かわいがられとったもんなぁ お前。西谷会長にじっくりなぶられながら ゴツなったんやろ？身も心も奴隷にされとったんやなぁ？
Shishido —あの人は関西極道のかがみです。かわいがられて光栄でしたわ。
— Dagger-Wielding Omi and Shishido (Japanese audio, Japanese subtitles)Dagger-Wielding Omi —
He 'looked after you'? You?
Shishido —What? Did I say something strange?
Dagger-Wielding Omi —I suppose you were well taken care of in a sense. Even though you were molested by Patriarch Nishitani at his leisure, you got tougher, didn't you? Enslaved in both body and mind, eh?
Shishido —That man is the model Kansai yakuza. It was an honor to be so well taken care of.
— Dagger-Wielding Omi and Shishido (Japanese audio, English subtitles)